Labour productivity loss caused by premature deaths associated with breast cancer: results from Spain over a 10-year period

Heterogeneous trends of premature mortalities in Japan: joinpoint regression analysis of years of life lost from 2011 to 2019

Purpose

To assess long-term premature mortalities in Japan for providing evidence of strategies for sustainable development in population health.

Methods

Descriptive study for observing the trends of premature mortalities due to 10 major causes and all-cause in Japan was conducted using governmental statistics taken between 2011 and 2019. Years of life lost (YLL) was calculated for each cause, and the trends of these were examined by joinpoint regression analysis.

Results

The means of YLL for all-cause through 2011 to 2019 were 8,121,565.1 in males and 6,743,198.4 in females. For each cause, the trends of age-standardized YLL were downward except for malignant neoplasm of pancreas and heart failure in males, and malignant neoplasm of pancreas, malignant neoplasm of breast, and age-related physical debility in females. One significant joinpoint for heart failure was found in males, and one significant joinpoint for each of malignant neoplasm of pancreas and age-related physical debility were found in females.

Conclusions

Premature mortalities due to malignant neoplasm of pancreas in both sexes, heart failure in males and malignant neoplasm of breast in females were issues to be prioritized for promoting population health in Japan.

Evaluation of productivity losses due to premature mortality from colorectal cancer

Cancer is responsible annually for around 27% of all deaths in Spain, 15% of which are caused by colorectal cancer. This malignancy has increased its incidence considerably over the past years, which surely impacts global productivity losses. The evaluation of lost productivity due to premature mortality provides valuable information that guides healthcare policies into the establishment of prevention and screening programs. The purpose of this study was to assess the productivity losses from premature deaths due to colorectal cancer over a ten year period (2008–2017). The costs derived from premature mortality due to this highly prevalent cancer were estimated using data on mortality, age- and sex-specific reference salaries and unemployment rates in Spain via the human capital approach. Between 2008 and 2017, 15,103 persons died per year from colorectal cancer, representing almost 15% of all cancer-related deaths. Annually, 25,333 years of potential productive life were estimated to be lost on average, 14,992 in males and 10,341 in females. Productivity losses summed €510.8 million in in 2017, and the cancers of the colon and rectum accounted for 9.6% of cancer-related productivity losses in 2017 in Spain. Colorectal cancer has an important weight in terms of productivity losses within the Spanish population, consequently, prevention and early detection programmes should be promoted and implemented to achieve significant reductions in mortality and productivity losses.

Productivity costs associated with metastatic breast cancer in younger, midlife, and older women

BACKGROUND

The objective of the current study was to estimate productivity costs due to metastatic breast cancer (mBC) via productive time lost among survivors and potential life-years lost from premature mortality among 3 age groups: younger (aged 18-44 years), midlife (aged 45-64 years), and older (aged ≥65 years) women.

METHODS

The authors estimated the number of work and home productivity days missed due to mBC by age group using data from the 2000 to 2016 National Health Interview Survey. Years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to mBC were calculated for each age group using 2015 National Vital Statistics System data. The authors valued both sources of lost productivity time using the Current Population Survey and prior studies.

RESULTS

The per-woman value of lost productive days (work and home) due to mBC ranged from $680 for older women to $5169 for younger women. In 2015, the value of lost work and home productivity days associated with mBC nationally was $67 million for younger women, $246 million for midlife women, and $66 million for older women. YPLL were highest among midlife women (403,786 life-years), followed by older women (248,522 life-years) and younger women (95,943 life-years). Midlife women were found to have the highest market value of YPLL ($4.1 billion), followed by younger women ($1.6 billion) and older women ($527 million).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the current study demonstrated that mBC generates a high economic burden through lost productivity, especially among midlife women.

Burden of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Spain over a 10-year period: productivity losses due to premature mortality

Background: Cancer is annually responsible for millions of deaths in Europe and billions of euros in productivity losses; the estimated mortality rate of lymphoma was of 7.07 per 100,000 individuals in Spain in 2018. This study aimed to evaluate the burden that lymphoma mortality represents for the Spanish society. Methods: The human capital approach was used to estimate the costs derived from premature mortality due to lymphoma between 2008 and 2017. Results: The number of deaths attributable to lymphoma increased steadily over the study period; the major number of deaths occurred among males aged 80 to 84 years. During the study period, 97,069 years of productive life were lost, a parameter that decreased noticeably over time due to the reduction in the number of deaths at working age. Productivity losses decreased accordingly. Lymphoma represented the 45.36% of losses due to hematological malignancies, generating €121 million in losses the year 2017. Hodgkin lymphoma was, among hematological malignancies, the malignancy accounting for the highest portion of losses per individual. Conclusions: Lymphoma represents a significant burden that can be reduced with the implementation of improved diagnosis and treatment methods, which must be taken into account in resource allocation and management policies.

Association Between One-carbon Metabolism-related Vitamins and Risk of Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prospective Studies

Epidemiologic studies focusing on the association between 1-carbon metabolism-related vitamins (ie, folate, vitamin B₆, vitamin B₂, vitamin B₁₂) and breast cancer risk have reported inconsistent findings. We conducted a systematic search of the reported data and performed a meta-analysis of prospective case-control and cohort studies to derive a more precise evaluation. The PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched to identify eligible studies. A total of 27 studies involving 49,707 cases and 1,274,060 individuals were included in the meta-analysis. The results indicated that a high intake of folate, vitamin B₆, and vitamin B₂ might decrease the risk of breast cancer. The corresponding pooled relative risks (RRs) for the highest intake compared with the lowest were 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.88-0.99; P = .018), 0.94 (95% CI, 0.89-1.00; P = .037) and 0.90 (95% CI, 0.82-0.99; P = .026). No significant association between vitamin B₁₂ and breast cancer risk was found (RR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.94-1.04; P = .604). Further study showed that folate and vitamin B₆ might decrease the risk of estrogen receptor-negative (ER^-)/progesterone receptor-negative (PR^-) breast cancer but not ER⁺/PR⁺ breast cancer. The dose-response meta-analysis indicated a significant linearity relationship between folate intake and a reduced risk of ER^-/PR^- breast cancer. An increment of folate intake (100 μg/d) corresponded to a 7% deceased risk of ER^-/PR^- breast cancer (RR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89-0.98; P = .007). In conclusion, a high intake of 1-carbon metabolism-related vitamins might contribute to the prevention of breast cancer, especially ER^-/PR^- breast cancer.

The cost of lost productivity due to premature lung cancer-related mortality: results from Spain over a 10-year period

BACKGROUND

Cancer mortality is one of the major causes of productivity loss; and within all cancer sites, malignant neoplasms of the lung continue to be the principal cancer-related cause of death in Spain, with a survival rate of only 10.7%. Thus its effects in labour productivity are a major concern and represent a great social impact. The objective of this study was to evaluate the productivity losses that occur as a result of premature deaths due to lung cancer in Spain.

METHODS

The human capital approach was used to calculate the costs derived from the premature mortality due to lung cancer, via the extraction of data on mortality, reference salaries and unemployment rates.

RESULTS

Deaths due to lung cancer represented the 28.90% and the 10.83% of all cancer-related deaths in 2017 in males and females respectively, with an increasing tendency in this last group. In addition, the YPPLL count increased in the study period among females. Lung cancer was responsible annually for 60,846 YPPLL, and productivity losses summed €13.1 billion over the 10 year period.

CONCLUSIONS

The assessment of productivity losses due to lung cancer provides new information that may assist decision makers in the allocation of resources, reducing the burden it supposes in working-age individuals.